Thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing method and manufacturing device

Abstract

To provide a manufacturing method and manufacturing device for obtaining a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet that is low cost and has excellent fiber dispersibility.SOLUTION: There is provided a manufacturing method and manufacturing device for a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet in which a long fiber material is caused to run and impregnated with a thermoplastic resin material. The method and device is configured in that: a spread yarn sheet Sa with a basis weight of 20 to 80 g / m2 is used as a long fiber material; at least one resin adhesion member 33a in which a thermoplastic resin material is discharged is disposed between a first guide member 32a and a second guide member 34a; and the spread yarn sheet is caused to run while applying tension thereto and contacting with each of the members to attach the thermoplastic resin material to at least one side of the spread yarn sheet; and then the thermoplastic resin material is impregnated between each fiber of the spread yarn sheet by heating and pressurizing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturing method and manufacturing device for obtaining a unidirectional reinforced thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet with excellent fiber distribution impregnated with a thermoplastic resin material such as PA6, PP, PPS, or PEEK, using a spread fiber sheet obtained by continuously spreading reinforcing fiber bundles of parallelly arranged reinforcing fibers such as carbon fibers and glass fibers into bundles into a wide and thin state. [Background technology]

[0002] Thermoplastic resin composites, which use reinforcing fibers such as carbon fiber and glass fiber as reinforcing materials and a thermoplastic resin matrix such as PA6 (polyamide 6), PP (polypropylene), PPS (polyphenylene sulfide), or PEEK (polyether ether ketone) resin, are attracting attention not only for their high strength, high elasticity, and light weight properties but also for their moldability and recyclability, and are promising materials for use in a variety of fields, including aviation, automobiles, and sports.

[0003] There are various methods for manufacturing thermoplastic resin composite materials depending on the shape of the molded product. However, to obtain molded products that take advantage of the mechanical properties of the reinforcing fibers, a commonly used method is to align the reinforcing fibers in one direction and press-molde them using a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet impregnated with a thermoplastic resin material.

[0004] For this reason, it is important to produce thermoplastic resin prepreg sheets at high quality and low cost. There are various methods for producing thermoplastic resin prepreg sheets, but one low-cost production method is to melt powder or pellets, which are the raw material for the thermoplastic resin material, using an extruder or the like, and then extrude the molten thermoplastic resin material from a slit die to impregnate the reinforcing fibers. This method is proposed, for example, in Patent Document 1.

[0005] Patent Document 1 describes a method in which a continuous fiber bundle is uniformly spread and heated in a non-contact heater, and then the bundle is made to travel under tension over an extruder head with a bow-shaped surface, while a molten thermoplastic resin material is injected from the extruder head into the continuous fiber bundle. It also describes that the molten resin injected onto the extruder head expels air between the fibers and coats each fiber, thereby producing a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 05-068327 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] When a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet is produced using spread yarns with good fiber distribution by the method described in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet with poor fiber distribution in which gaps occur between fibers is produced.

[0008] Even if the continuous fiber bundle is in an untwisted state, not all of the fibers constituting the continuous fiber bundle are oriented straight. Therefore, when the continuous fiber bundle is spread to a wide state, some of the fibers are oriented straight, and some fibers are oriented obliquely across the fiber. When tension is applied to the spread yarn in this state, unevenness in the tension is likely to occur across the entire width of the spread yarn, and, for example, the tension applied to fibers that are oblique to the fiber length direction is small, or no tension is applied at all.

[0009] When the spread yarn in such a state runs on an extruder head and thermoplastic resin is injected, the slack fibers to which little tension or no tension is applied move in the width direction due to the resin flow, resulting in a prepreg sheet with poor fiber distribution.

[0010] Moreover, in a previous process where the spread yarn runs in contact over the extruder head, if tension is applied to the spread yarn and it runs in a non-contact state, a force that tries to bundle the fibers acts due to the influence of the obliquely oriented fibers, and the fibers are bundled entirely or partially, resulting in a spread yarn with poor fiber distribution that has width fluctuations and gaps.When the spread yarn in this state runs in contact over the extruder head, resin is injected into the gaps that are created, and those portions become only resin, making it difficult for the fiber to fill the gaps.

[0011] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus for obtaining a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet that is low cost and has excellent fiber dispersion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] The method for producing a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet according to the present invention is a method for producing a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet by aligning a long fiber material in the fiber length direction and running the material to impregnate the material with a thermoplastic resin material, and the long fiber material has fibers dispersed in the width direction and a basis weight of 20 to 80 g / m 2 a first guide member and a second guide member, each of which has a curved contact surface, are arranged at a predetermined interval in a running direction of the spread fiber sheet, and at least one resin adhesion member, the curved contact surface of which has a discharge port from which a molten thermoplastic resin material is continuously discharged, is arranged between the first guide member and the second guide member, and the spread fiber sheet to which tension is applied in a fiber length direction is applied to the contact surface of the first guide member. Sliding contact and then running the spread fiber sheet while sliding it against the contact surface of at least one of the resin-adhering members to form a resin-adhered sheet having the thermoplastic resin material adhered to at least one surface of the spread fiber sheet, and then applying the resin-adhered sheet to the contact surface of the second guide member. Sliding contact While driving In tension of the spread fiber sheet or the resin-adhered sheet running in contact with the contact surfaces of the first guide member, the resin-adhering member, and the second guide member, a relationship between a pre-contact tension that is a tension before contacting each of the contact surfaces and a post-contact tension that is a tension after contacting each of the contact surfaces is set to be pre-contact tension≦post-contact tension,Thereafter, the resin-adhering sheet is heated and pressurized while running in a state in which tension is applied, to be impregnated with the thermoplastic resin material. Furthermore, in the spread fiber sheet or the resin-adhering sheet running in a non-contact state between the sections of the contact surfaces of the first guide member, the one or more resin-adhering members, and the second guide member, the running distance in a non-contact state is 300 mm or less. Furthermore, the spread fiber sheet and the resin-adhering sheet running in the first guide member, the one or more resin-adhering members, and the second guide member are Orthogonal The spread fiber sheet is laterally vibrated in the direction perpendicular to the fiber length direction. Furthermore, after the thermoplastic resin material is adhered to one surface of the spread fiber sheet, the other surface of the spread fiber sheet is made to run while being in contact with another resin adhering member, so that the thermoplastic resin material is adhered to both surfaces of the spread fiber sheet to form a resin-adhered sheet. Furthermore, another spread fiber sheet to which a predetermined tension is applied in the fiber length direction is made to run while being successively in contact with the surface of the resin-adhered sheet to which the thermoplastic resin material is adhered, and thereafter, the spread fiber sheet is made to run while being in contact with each of contact surfaces of another first guide member, one or more other resin adhering members, and another second guide member in this order, so that the thermoplastic resin material is adhered to the spread fiber sheet. Furthermore, in the spread fiber sheet, a plurality of fiber bundles are arranged in the width direction, and the fibers of each of the fiber bundles are dispersed in the width direction.

[0013] The thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is a sheet of long fiber material aligned in the fiber length direction and dispersed in the width direction, with a basis weight of 20 to 80 g / m 2 The manufacturing device for a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet is configured to impregnate a thermoplastic resin material by using the spread fiber sheet, and to apply a predetermined tension in a fiber length direction to the running spread fiber sheet while providing a curved contact surface to the running spread fiber sheet. Sliding contact a first guide member that presses the spread fiber sheet against one side of the spread fiber sheet, and a curved contact surface that is disposed on the downstream side of the first guide member in the running direction of the spread fiber sheet and has a discharge port that continuously discharges the molten thermoplastic resin material, By sliding itAt least one resin adhering member that adheres the thermoplastic resin material to obtain a resin-adhered sheet; and a contact surface that is arranged downstream of the resin adhering member in the traveling direction and has a curved contact surface on the resin-adhered sheet. Sliding contact At least a second guide member is provided. In tension of the spread fiber sheet or the resin-adhered sheet running in contact with the contact surfaces of the first guide member, the resin-adhering member, and the second guide member, a relationship between a pre-contact tension that is a tension before contacting each of the contact surfaces and a post-contact tension that is a tension after contacting each of the contact surfaces is set to be pre-contact tension≦post-contact tension, Further, the first guide member and / or the second guide member vibrate laterally in a direction perpendicular to the running direction of the spread fiber sheet. Further, the plurality of resin adhesion members are arranged parallel to the running direction of the spread fiber sheet so that the discharge directions of the thermoplastic resin material face each other. Further, a plurality of resin adhesion mechanisms, each including the first guide member, at least one or more resin adhesion members, and the second guide member, are arranged in the running direction of the spread fiber sheet. Further, a spreading mechanism that spreads at least one or more fiber bundles to manufacture a spread fiber sheet is provided. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] In the present invention, when the molten thermoplastic resin material is discharged and impregnated into a spread fiber sheet with good fiber distribution, the molten thermoplastic resin material is adhered to the surface of the spread fiber sheet without causing fiber movement that generates gaps among the fibers constituting the spread fiber sheet, and then the thermoplastic resin material is impregnated into the spread fiber sheet by heating and pressurizing, so that a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet with excellent fiber distribution can be manufactured. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic side view of a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing contact of the spread fiber sheet with the first guide member. [Figure 3] 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the resin-attached sheet coming into contact with the second guide member. FIG. [Figure 4] 10 is an explanatory diagram of a contact surface formed on an end portion of a plate-like member. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a resin-adhering member. [Figure 6]FIG. 10 is a schematic view of resin adhesion members arranged in parallel in the running direction of the spread fiber sheet and arranged so that the discharge directions of the thermoplastic resin material face each other. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of another thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus for comparison with the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The following describes in detail the embodiments of the present invention. Note that the embodiments described below are preferred examples for carrying out the present invention, and therefore various technical limitations are imposed thereon. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise specified in the following description to limit the invention.

[0017] 1 shows a schematic side view of a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus M1 according to the present invention. This example is comprised of a crill stand 1a, a fiber-spreading mechanism 2a, a resin-adhering mechanism 3a, a heating and pressurizing mechanism 4, a cooling and pressurizing mechanism 5, a take-up mechanism 6, and a winding mechanism 7.

[0018] The fiber bundle Ta is a bundle of multiple continuous long fibers (long fibers) that is usually wound around a bobbin 11a such as a paper tube. The fiber lengths vary, but most fiber bundles are wound to a length of several thousand meters. The krill stand 1a is a mechanism for setting the required number of bobbins 11a and pulling out the fiber bundle Ta without untwisting it.

[0019] In the present invention, fiber bundles Ta are used as the long fiber material, and examples of the fiber bundles Ta include reinforcing fiber bundles made of high-strength fibers such as carbon fiber bundles, glass fiber bundles, aramid fiber bundles, and ceramic fiber bundles. The number of fibers constituting the fiber bundle is, for example, 12,000 to 24,000 for carbon fiber bundles, but in the present invention, fiber bundles with a number of fibers exceeding 24,000 (e.g., 50,000) can also be used. Furthermore, since these fiber bundles are used by continuously opening them into a wide, thin state, it is preferable to use fiber bundles in an untwisted or untwisted state in order to obtain a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet with a stable width and no gaps.

[0020] The structure of the crill stand 1a may be, for example, a mechanism in which the bobbin 11a is controlled by a brake mechanism (not shown) so that the fiber bundle Ta is pulled out at a certain tension, or a mechanism in which the bobbin 11a is connected to a motor (not shown) that can control its rotation so that the fiber bundle Ta is pulled out at a constant tension by a tension control mechanism (not shown).

[0021] After the fiber bundle Ta is pulled out from the cril stand 1a in the running direction D with a certain tension, the fiber bundle Ta is fed to the spreading mechanism 2a. The number of bobbins 11a required for the cril stand 1a is determined by the specifications of the fiber bundle Ta and the product specifications (width, thickness, etc.) of the thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet. When there are multiple bobbins 11a, they may be arranged at certain intervals in the width direction and fed to the spreading mechanism 2a. In the spreading mechanism 2a, the fiber bundle Ta is continuously expanded into a wide and thin state, and a spread fiber sheet Sa with excellent fiber distribution as a whole is obtained. Moreover, since the fiber bundle Ta is fed from the cril stand 1a with a certain tension applied thereto, when the spread fiber sheet Sa is discharged from the spreading mechanism 2a, a certain tension is applied to the entire width of the spread fiber sheet Sa and it runs.

[0022] The spreading method performed by the spreading mechanism unit 2a may be any method that spreads the fiber bundle Ta in the width direction with good fiber distribution. For example, there is a method of spreading the fiber bundle Ta by making the fiber bundle Ta contact and run in a zigzag pattern between rolls arranged at intervals in the fiber length direction (roll spreading), or a method of spreading the fiber bundle Ta by running the fiber bundle Ta while bending it parabolically in a section where air flows in one direction by suction or the like (air spreading). Furthermore, a spreading method that combines air spreading and roll spreading may also be used.

[0023] As a method of combining air spreading and roll spreading, for example, a spread fiber sheet may be made by spreading a plurality of fiber bundles using a spreading device as shown in Fig. 12 described in Japanese Patent No. 4740131. Furthermore, when a spreading device as shown in Fig. 20 described in Japanese Patent No. 5326170 is used, a thin spread fiber sheet Sa can be obtained by gradually spreading a large-fineness fiber bundle, for example, a fiber bundle with a large number of fibers such as 24K or 50K carbon fiber bundles. Furthermore, when a spreading device as shown in Figs. 15A and 15B described in Japanese Patent No. 5553074 is used, wide spreading can be realized at high speed.

[0024] By using the above-mentioned fiber spreading method and device, for example, carbon fiber bundles can be spread to a weight of 20 to 80 g / m 2 When a 12K carbon fiber bundle (single fiber diameter approx. 7 μm, number of fibers 12,000) is used, the weight is approx. 40 g / m when it is spread to a width of 20 mm. 2 When opened to a width of 40 mm, the weight is approximately 20 g / m 2 In addition, when a 50K carbon fiber bundle (single fiber diameter of approximately 7 μm, number of fibers in the bundle of 50,000) is used, the weight can be approximately 78 g / m when the bundle is opened to a width of 42 mm. 2 When opened to a width of 82 mm, the weight is approximately 40 g / m 2A spread fiber sheet excellent in fiber distribution can be obtained by arranging the fiber bundles in the width direction and spreading a plurality of fiber bundles at the same time. In the present invention, the spread fiber sheet refers to both the spread fiber obtained by spreading one fiber bundle and the sheet formed by arranging a plurality of fiber bundles in the width direction and spreading each of them.

[0025] In these spread fiber sheets, the number of single fibers aligned in the thickness direction is small, 10 or less on average. For example, when a carbon fiber bundle 12K is spread to a width of 20 mm, the maximum number of single fibers aligned in the width direction is approximately 2,857 or less, calculated as 20 mm / 0.007 mm (carbon fiber diameter). Even when the fiber distribution is good, the single fibers are arranged with gaps rather than in contact, so it is thought that approximately 1,500 to 2,500 fibers are aligned in the width direction. Furthermore, with 12K, it is thought that from 12,000 fibers, approximately 5 to 8 fibers are aligned in the thickness direction. Similarly, when a carbon fiber bundle 12K is spread to a width of 40 mm, it is thought that approximately 5,000 to 5,500 fibers are aligned in the width direction and approximately 2 to 3 fibers are aligned in the thickness direction. Furthermore, when a carbon fiber bundle 50K is spread to a width of 42 mm, it is thought that approximately 8 to 10 fibers are aligned in the thickness direction.

[0026] In this way, the fiber weight is 20 to 80 g / m 2 By forming the fiber bundle in this state, the number of fibers aligned in the thickness direction of the fiber bundle can be reduced. By forming the fiber bundle in this state, the resin impregnation distance is shortened, and even with a thermoplastic resin that has a high melt viscosity and is difficult to impregnate into the fiber bundle, resin impregnation can be performed in a short time with little void formation.

[0027] In the present embodiment, the crille stand 1a and the fiber-spreading mechanism unit 2a are arranged in a process upstream of the resin deposition mechanism unit 3a, and the spread fiber sheet Sa is continuously transported to the resin deposition mechanism unit 3a while being manufactured. However, a method may be adopted in which the crille stand and the fiber-spreading mechanism unit are arranged in separate processes, the spread fiber sheet Sa is wound onto a bobbin or the like while being manufactured, and then an unwinding device is arranged upstream of the resin deposition mechanism unit 3a, the bobbin around which the spread fiber sheet Sa is wound is set in the unwinding device, the spread fiber sheet Sa is unwound while being given a certain tension, and the spread fiber sheet Sa is transported to the resin deposition mechanism unit 3a.

[0028] The spread fiber sheet Sa is conveyed to the resin deposition mechanism unit 3a, which is the next process, in a state where a constant tension is applied across the entire width. The resin deposition mechanism unit 3a in this embodiment is composed of a preheating roll 31a, a first guide member 32a, a resin deposition member 33a, and a second guide member 34a. Note that when it is not necessary to heat the spread fiber sheet Sa in advance, the resin deposition mechanism unit 3a may have a configuration in which the preheating roll 31a is removed.

[0029] The preheating roll 31a heats the spread fiber sheet Sa in advance. When the molten thermoplastic resin material is adhered to the spread fiber sheet Sa by the resin adhesion member 33a, impregnation of the thermoplastic resin material between the fibers progresses more when the spread fiber sheet Sa serving as a base material is heated to the melting temperature of the thermoplastic resin material or higher, and the adhesion of the thermoplastic resin material to the fibers becomes stronger. Note that in the present invention, adhesion also refers to a state in which the molten thermoplastic resin material sticks to the fibers arranged on the surface of the spread fiber sheet, and a state in which the molten thermoplastic resin material impregnates between the fibers up to a certain point inside the spread fiber sheet. It can be said that adhesion is stronger, or the degree of adhesion is improved, when the thermoplastic resin material impregnates up to a certain point inside the spread fiber sheet, rather than when the molten thermoplastic resin material sticks to the fibers on the surface.

[0030] In this embodiment, one preheating roll 31a with a diameter of 300 mm was prepared, and the spread fiber sheet Sa was brought into contact with the preheating roll 31a for about half a circumference or more. The preheating roll 31a may be fixed or rotatable, but if it is fixed, the tension applied to the entire width of the spread fiber sheet Sa increases as the contact length increases, and there is a risk of excessive tension being applied. When excessive tension is applied to the spread fiber sheet Sa, partial fiber bundling occurs, deteriorating fiber distribution or fiber breakage occurs. Therefore, preferably, the preheating roll 31a rotates in accordance with the running speed of the spread fiber sheet Sa in a free state, or the preheating roll 31a is connected to a drive motor (not shown) and rotates at about the same speed as the running speed of the spread fiber sheet Sa. In this case, tension that is approximately the same as or slightly higher than the tension before contact with the preheating roll 31a is applied to the spread fiber sheet Sa, and it is conveyed to the next process.

[0031] The spread fiber sheet Sa is heated by contacting with the preheating roll 31a, and preferably is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting temperature of the thermoplastic resin material to be adhered. In this embodiment, the preheating roll 31a with a diameter of 300 mm is used and contact is made over half a circumference or more. When the running speed of the spread fiber sheet Sa is 10 m / min, the heating temperature is about 2.8 seconds. Since the spread fiber sheet Sa has a small number of fibers aligned in the thickness direction, it is thought that about 2 seconds or more can be sufficient to heat it.

[0032] In order to sufficiently heat the spread fiber sheet Sa with the preheating roll 31a, there are a method of setting the heating temperature higher, or a method of lengthening the contact length of the spread fiber sheet Sa with the preheating roll 31a by making the contact length half a circumference or more, or by increasing the number of preheating rolls 31a.

[0033] The spread fiber sheet Sa is heated by the preheat roll 31a, and then transported to and contacts the first guide member 32a in a state where tension is applied to the entire width of the sheet. Fig. 2 shows an explanatory view of the spread fiber sheet Sa contacting the first guide member 32a, and Fig. 3 shows an explanatory view of the resin-adhering sheet Ca contacting the second guide member 34a.

[0034] A curved contact surface 321 is formed on the first guide member 32a, and a curved contact surface 341 is formed on the second guide member 34a. In the present invention, the contact surface refers to a planar portion with which a sheet material such as the spread fiber sheet Sa comes into contact and runs. The curved contact surface refers to a planar portion having a convex curved shape as shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, a convex curved contact surface 38 is formed on an end of a plate-like member 37. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the contact surface 321 and the contact surface 341 are formed by the outer circumferential surfaces of the rotating or fixed rolls.

[0035] When the spread fiber sheet Sa runs while contacting the first guide member 32a, or the resin-adhered sheet Ca runs while contacting the second guide member 34a, the relationship between the tension before contact (pre-contact tension FT1) and the tension after contact (post-contact tension FT2) differs depending on how the sheet material such as the spread fiber sheet Sa or the resin-adhered sheet Ca contacts the curved contact surface 321 or the contact surface 341 of the first guide member 32a or the second guide member 34a. When the sheet material contacts the contact surface and moves at the same speed, FT1 and FT2 become equal tensions. When the speed at which the sheet material moves while in contact with the contact surface is faster than the moving speed of the contact surface, that is, when the sheet material runs in a sliding manner in contact with the contact surface, FT2 is larger than FT1. In the present invention, running in a sliding manner in contact is also expressed as running while sliding in contact.

[0036] Therefore, when the first guide member 32a or the second guide member 34a is a rotating roll and the rotational load is very small, the pre-contact tension FT1 and the post-contact tension FT2 are almost equal. However, when the rotational load is somewhat large, the post-contact tension FT2 becomes larger by the amount of the load. Then, when the first guide member 32a or the second guide member 34a is a fixed roll, the sheet material such as the spread fiber sheet Sa or the resin-adhered sheet Ca runs while sliding in contact with it, so the post-contact tension FT2 becomes larger than the pre-contact tension FT1. Note that even when the first guide member 32a or the second guide member 34a has a roll shape and is rotated at a constant rotational speed by a drive motor (not shown) or the like and the sheet material runs while sliding in contact with its surface, the post-contact tension FT2 becomes larger than the pre-contact tension FT1.

[0037] When the post-contact tension FT2 is equal to or larger than the pre-contact tension FT1, a pulling force acts on each fiber constituting the spread fiber sheet or the resin-adhered sheet, and an effect of orienting the fibers more straight can be obtained.

[0038] Then, when the sheet material such as the spread fiber sheet Sa or the resin-adhered sheet Ca runs in contact with the contact surface which has a curved shape of the first or second guide member, a pressing force FT3 which is a force pressing the sheet material against the contact surface acts on the sheet material. Because the contact surface has a convex curved shape, when the sheet material is contacted with the contact surface while tension is applied, a pressing force FT3 acts on the sheet material. Then, as the pre-contact tension FT1 and the post-contact tension FT2 during running increase, the pressing force FT3 also increases.

[0039] When the pressing force FT3 acts on the spread fiber sheet Sa or the resin-adhering sheet Ca, several important actions in the present invention are obtained. First, when partial bundling occurs in the spread fiber sheet Sa or the resin-adhering sheet Ca and a place with poor fiber distribution is formed, the place is pressed against the contact surface, thereby breaking up the bundled fiber state and improving the distribution state of the fibers. Second, when the fibers constituting the spread fiber sheet Sa or the resin-adhering sheet Ca are pressed against the contact surface, the fibers are less likely to move in the width direction, and an action of maintaining good fiber distribution is obtained.

[0040] After running in contact with the first guide member 32a, the spread fiber sheet Sa is conveyed to the resin adhering member 33a in the next step in a state where the fibers constituting the spread fiber sheet Sa are better distributed. Fig. 5 shows a schematic view of the resin adhering member 33a.

[0041] The resin adhering member 33a is a die that can extrude the molten thermoplastic resin material in a slit shape, and specifically is like a T-die. The resin adhering member 33a is attached to an extruder (not shown), and has a structure that continuously discharges the molten thermoplastic resin material in a slit shape in the width direction of the spread fiber sheet Sa, and is like a die that forms a film.

[0042] The extruder is equipment that charges pellets, powder, or the like, which are raw materials for thermoplastic resin material, into a cylinder heated to the melting temperature of the thermoplastic resin material or higher, melts the thermoplastic resin with a rotating screw in the cylinder, and continuously supplies the melted resin continuously and quantitatively to resin adhering member 33a. Resin adhering member 33a is, for example, like a T-die, and the part in the die where the molten resin flows has a hanger shape, so that the supplied molten thermoplastic resin material advances while spreading inside the die, and is continuously discharged from slit-shaped discharge outlet 35a whose longitudinal direction is the width direction of the spread fiber sheet Sa.

[0043] 5, a contact surface 36a having a convexly curved shape is formed at the tip of the resin adhesion member 33a, and a discharge outlet 35a is formed in a part of the contact surface 36a. The spread fiber sheet Sa fed from the first guide member 32a runs while being in sliding contact with the contact surface 36a in a state where tension is applied, and when the spread fiber sheet Sa passes through the discharge outlet 35a in sliding contact, the discharged molten thermoplastic resin material impregnates into and adheres to the surface of the spread fiber sheet Sa and between the fibers.

[0044] The thermoplastic resin material may be any one of thermoplastic resins such as polypropylene, polyamide (nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 12, etc.), polycarbonate, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS), polyetherimide, polyethersulfone, polyphenylene sulfide, polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, etc., or a polymer alloy resin that is a mixture of two or more of these thermoplastic resins.

[0045] The amount of the thermoplastic resin material deposited on the spread fiber sheet Sa is determined by the running speed of the spread fiber sheet Sa and the discharge amount from the discharge outlet 35a. The deposition amount is controlled within a range of 20 to 75% in terms of fiber volume content. When discharging from the discharge outlet 35a, it is important that uniform discharge is continuously performed in the width direction of the spread fiber sheet Sa, and the shape of the discharge outlet 35a may be a shape that allows uniform discharge to be continuously performed in the width direction of the spread fiber sheet Sa, and preferably a slit-like narrow width shape with the width direction of the spread fiber sheet Sa as the longitudinal direction.

[0046] When the spread fiber sheet Sa runs in sliding contact with the curved contact surface 36a while tension is applied, the spread fiber sheet Sa is pressed against the contact surface 36a similar to the case where the spread fiber sheet Sa runs in contact with the first or second guide member, and each fiber is less likely to move in the width direction.

[0047] When the molten thermoplastic resin material adheres to one side of the spread fiber sheet Sa, the thermoplastic resin material impregnates between the fibers to some extent with the force of being discharged from the discharge port 35a, and if there are any parts where the gaps between the fibers are even slightly wide, the thermoplastic resin material flows vigorously into those parts. At this time, a force that spreads the fibers acts on the fibers, but by running in contact with the abutment surface 321 of the first guide member 32a, the abutment surface 341 of the second guide member 34a, and the abutment surface 36a of the resin adhesion member 33a, the fibers are pressed against the respective abutment surfaces and are not easily moved in the width direction, so the thermoplastic resin material discharged from the discharge port 35a can be adhered to one side of the spread fiber sheet while the spread fiber sheet Sa maintains a good fiber distribution state. That is, a resin-adhered sheet Ca in which the thermoplastic resin material adheres to the spread fiber sheet can be manufactured.

[0048] In the present invention, the basis weight is 20 to 80 g / m 2 The thermoplastic resin material is adhered to the spread fiber sheet Sa by the resin adhering member 33a. 2 Since a low basis weight long fiber material is used, the amount of the thermoplastic resin material discharged from the discharge port 35a of the resin adhering member 33a is small. Therefore, the amount of the thermoplastic resin material adhered to the surface of the spread fiber sheet Sa is also small. In this state, when the spread fiber sheet Sa (resin-adhering sheet Ca) having the thermoplastic resin material adhered thereto leaves the contact surface 36a of the resin adhering member 33a and is conveyed to the second guide member 34a of the next process, the discharged thermoplastic resin material can be prevented from remaining adhered to the contact surface 36a, and it can be continuously conveyed to the next process.

[0049] Long fiber material with a basis weight of 80g / m 2When using the above sheet materials, or when manufacturing a prepreg sheet with a low fiber volume content, the amount of thermoplastic resin material discharged from the discharge port 35a becomes large. When the sheet material with the thermoplastic resin material attached leaves the contact surface 36a and is transported to the second guide member 34a for the next process, some of the thermoplastic resin material may remain on the contact surface 36a due to the large amount of thermoplastic resin material discharged, making it difficult to transport the sheet material continuously and stably. Therefore, a basis weight of 20 to 80 g / m is set. 2 By using the spread fiber sheet Sa, continuous production becomes possible.

[0050] The shorter the running distance of the spread fiber sheet Sa in a non-contact state after it contacts the contact surface 321 of the first guide member 32a until it runs in sliding contact with the contact surface 36a of the resin adhering member 33a, the better the fiber distribution of the spread fiber sheet Sa is maintained. This is thought to be because the spread fiber sheet Sa contacts the contact surface 321 of the first guide member 32a and the contact surface 36a of the resin adhering member 33a with tension applied, and the fibers are pressed against the respective contact surfaces, making it difficult for the fibers to move in the width direction, thereby maintaining the distributed state of the fibers.

[0051] In the spread fiber sheet Sa, some fibers are oriented straight in the long fiber direction, and some fibers may be oriented obliquely across the fibers. Therefore, when the spread fiber sheet Sa in this state is applied with tension and runs a long distance without contact, the obliquely running fibers may have an effect and cause the fibers to be partially bundled, or cause fibers to which no tension is applied. In this way, in a state in which tension unevenness occurs over the entire width of the spread fiber sheet and fibers to which no tension is applied or to which the applied tension is small occur, even if the spread fiber sheet runs while sliding in contact with contact surface 36a of resin adhesion member 33a, the molten thermoplastic resin material discharged from discharge port 35a causes disorder in the orientation of the fibers, and fiber distribution becomes poor.

[0052] That is, the shorter the traveling distance of the spread fiber sheet in a non-contact state, the less the influence of the fibers existing in the spread fiber sheet and running obliquely can be avoided, and the fibers are conveyed to the next process with tension applied to each fiber and with the dispersed state of the fibers maintained.

[0053] Similarly, the shorter the traveling distance in a non-contact state from when the spread fiber sheet Sa having the thermoplastic resin material adhered thereto (resin-adhered sheet Ca) leaves the contact surface 36a until it comes into contact with the contact surface 341 of the second guide member 34a, the better the fiber distribution of the resin-adhered sheet Ca is maintained. Conversely, when the non-contact state becomes longer, the resin-adhered sheet Ca is affected by the molten thermoplastic resin material in addition to the influence of the uneven tension in the entire width of the resin-adhered sheet Ca, causing fiber bundling or gaps, resulting in poor fiber distribution or causing tears between the sheets.

[0054] As a result of studies by the present inventors, when the running distance of the spread fiber sheet Sa in a non-contact state when it is fed from the contact surface 321 of the first guide member 32a to the contact surface 36a of the resin-adhering member 33a and the running distance of the resin-adhering sheet Ca in a non-contact state when it is fed from the contact surface 36a of the resin-adhering member 33a to the contact surface 341 of the second guide member 34a are within 300 mm, preferably within 100 mm, the fiber distribution in the sheet materials such as the spread fiber sheet Sa and the resin-adhering sheet Ca is kept favorable.

[0055] The resin-adhering sheet Ca runs in contact with the abutment surface 341 of the second guide member 34a. A force pressing the resin-adhering sheet Ca against the abutment surface 341 acts on the resin-adhering sheet Ca, and the adhered thermoplastic resin material further impregnates between the fibers constituting the spread fiber sheet Sa, improving the degree of adhesion.

[0056] Since the resin-adhering sheet Ca runs in contact with the second guide member 34a, it is desirable that the resin-adhering sheet Ca run while sliding in contact with a contact surface 341 of the second guide member 34a. For example, it is desirable that the second guide member 34a is a fixed roll or a rotating roll connected to a motor, with the rotation speed of the contact surface set slower than the running speed of the resin-adhering sheet Ca. In this way, running while sliding in contact can prevent the thermoplastic resin material adhering to the spread fiber sheet Sa from adhering to the contact surface 341.

[0057] It is desirable that the first guide member 32a and the second guide member 34a are heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting temperature of the thermoplastic resin material. By heating the first guide member 32a, the spread fiber sheet Sa is heated, and when the melted thermoplastic resin material is adhered by the resin adhesion member 33a, the thermoplastic resin material further penetrates into the gaps between fibers, improving the degree of adhesion.

[0058] Moreover, by heating the second guide member 34a, the thermoplastic resin material adhered to the spread fiber sheet Sa can further impregnate between the fibers constituting the spread fiber sheet Sa, and the degree of adhesion can be improved.

[0059] When one or both of the first guide member 32a and the second guide member 34a are laterally vibrated, the spread fiber sheet Sa running in contact with the abutment surface 321 of the first guide member 32a also vibrates laterally, thereby further improving the distribution of the fibers. In addition, the spread fiber sheet Sa running in sliding contact with the abutment surface 36a of the resin adhesion member 33a also undergoes the lateral vibration, which improves the distribution of the fibers and also improves the degree of adhesion by promoting impregnation of the thermoplastic resin material between the fibers. Furthermore, the resin adhesion sheet Ca running in sliding contact with the abutment surface 341 of the second guide member 34a laterally vibrates, which improves the degree of adhesion by promoting impregnation of the thermoplastic resin material between the fibers.

[0060] When the thermoplastic resin material discharged from the discharge port 35a is adhered to the spread fiber sheet Sa while the spread fiber sheet Sa is laterally vibrating on the contact surface 36a of the resin adhesion member 33a, the thermoplastic resin material is impregnated between the fibers up to partway through the inside of the spread fiber sheet Sa, so that the amount of the thermoplastic resin material adhering to the surface of the spread fiber sheet Sa decreases and the degree of adhesion of the thermoplastic resin material to the spread fiber sheet Sa is improved. Therefore, when the spread fiber sheet Sa to which the thermoplastic resin material has been adhered (resin-adhered sheet Ca) leaves the contact surface 36a and is conveyed to the second guide member 34a in the next step, the discharged thermoplastic resin material can be continuously and stably conveyed to the next step in a state where less of it remains adhering to the contact surface 36a.

[0061] The resin-adhered sheet Ca travels while sliding against the contact surface 341 of the second guide member 34a, and is then transported to the processes of the heating and pressurizing mechanism 4 and the cooling and pressurizing mechanism 5 in Fig. 1. Methods for continuously heating and pressurizing the sheet material, and then cooling and pressurizing, include a double belt press method and a continuous roll method, and either method may be adopted in the present invention.

[0062] The double belt press method is a method in which a continuously transported spread fiber sheet to which a thermoplastic resin material is attached is sandwiched between two release-treated steel endless belts, and passed through a heating and pressurizing process and a cooling and pressurizing process to impregnate the spread fiber sheet with the thermoplastic resin material, thereby producing a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet.

[0063] The continuous roll method is a method described in Fig. 1. A plurality of heating rolls 41 heated to the melting temperature of the thermoplastic resin material or higher and a plurality of cooling rolls 51 set to a temperature at which the thermoplastic resin material solidifies or lower are arranged at predetermined intervals in the running direction of the spread fiber sheet Sa, a predetermined tension is applied to the spread fiber sheet Sa having the thermoplastic resin material adhered thereto (resin-adhering sheet Ca) in the long fiber direction, and the spread fiber sheet Sa is made to run in zigzag contact with the plurality of heating rolls 41 and the plurality of cooling rolls 51, and the thermoplastic resin material is impregnated into the spread fiber sheet Sa, thereby continuously producing a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P.

[0064] By applying a predetermined tension to the resin-adhering sheet Ca in the long fiber direction and running it in contact with the rolls, a force pressing the resin-adhering sheet Ca against the rolls acts on the resin-adhering sheet Ca as shown in Fig. 3. This pressing force acts as a pressure force, and promotes the impregnation of the thermoplastic resin material into the spaces between the fibers constituting the spread fiber sheet Sa.

[0065] When the resin-adhered sheet Ca runs in contact with the heating roll 41, it is desirable that it runs in sliding contact with the heating roll 41. This can prevent the molten thermoplastic resin material from adhering to the surface of the heating roll 41. The resin-adhered sheet Ca can be run in sliding contact with the heating roll 41 by using the heating roll 41 as a fixed roll, or by connecting the heating roll 41 to a drive motor (not shown) and rotating it at a rotation speed slower than the running speed of the resin-adhered sheet Ca.

[0066] The resin-adhered sheet Ca is passed between the plurality of heating rolls 41 in a state where tension is applied in the running direction to impregnate the thermoplastic resin material between the spread fiber sheets, and thereafter, the sheet is made to run in contact with a plurality of cooling rolls 51 to solidify the thermoplastic resin material, and a continuous thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P is produced.

[0067] The cooling roll 51 is preferably a rotating roll. It is preferable that the cooling roll 51 rotates according to the running speed of the spread fiber sheet. By using a rotating roll, it is possible to prevent excessive tension from being applied to the thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P.

[0068] Furthermore, when the molten thermoplastic resin material comes into contact with the cooling roll 51, the thermoplastic resin material that comes into contact with the roll surface is cooled and solidified, thereby preventing problems such as the thermoplastic resin material adhering to the roll surface.

[0069] In addition, multiple heating rolls 41 and cooling rolls 51 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the running direction of the sheet material, such as the resin-adhered sheet Ca and the thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P, with the gap between each roll being within 300 mm, preferably within 100 mm. If the resin-adhered sheet Ca is run long distances between the multiple heating rolls 41 without contact, the thermoplastic resin material may be molten, causing the fibers to bundle or create gaps, resulting in poor fiber dispersion. In addition, in the section between the multiple cooling rolls 51, it is important to quickly solidify the thermoplastic resin material while maintaining good fiber dispersion, so it is desirable to arrange the multiple cooling rolls with short intervals.

[0070] The molten resin is solidified by traveling through the cooling and pressurizing mechanism 5 to produce a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P, which is then taken up by the take-up mechanism 6 at a predetermined speed.

[0071] The take-up mechanism 6 may have any structure that can take up the thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P at a predetermined speed, but in Figure 1, the thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P is sandwiched between a take-up roll 61 and a sheet pressing roll 62 connected to a motor not shown, and the take-up roll 61 is rotated by the predetermined rotation drive of the motor to take up the thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P.

[0072] The taken-up thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P is continuously wound around a predetermined bobbin 71 by the winding mechanism 7 while a predetermined tension is applied thereto.

[0073] FIG. 6 is a schematic view seen from the side of the resin adhesion member 33b and the resin adhesion member 33c arranged parallel to the running direction of the spread fiber sheet Sa and arranged so that the discharge directions of the thermoplastic resin material face each other.

[0074] The spread fiber sheet Sa to which a predetermined tension is applied in the fiber length direction runs in contact with the contact surface 321 of the first guide member 32b, and then the upper surface of the spread fiber sheet Sa runs while sliding against the contact surface 36b of the resin adhering member 33b and the molten thermoplastic resin material discharged from the discharge outlet 35b adheres to it and runs, and then the lower surface of the spread fiber sheet Sa runs while sliding against the contact surface 36c of another resin adhering member 33c and the molten thermoplastic resin material discharged from the discharge outlet 35c adheres to it and runs, and then the spread fiber sheet Sa runs in contact with the contact surface 341 of the second guide member 34b, so that the thermoplastic resin material is adhered to both surfaces of the spread fiber sheet Sa.

[0075] Even in this case, the resin-adhering sheet Ca runs in a non-contact state between the parallel resin-adhering members 33b and 33c, and when the distance is within 300 mm, preferably within 100 mm, the fiber dispersion of the resin-adhering sheet Ca is maintained well.

[0076] 7 is a schematic side view of a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus M2 illustrating another embodiment. In this example, a crill stand 1b, a fiber-spreading mechanism 2b, and a resin adhesion mechanism 3b are arranged after the second guide member 34a of the manufacturing apparatus M1 in FIG. 1, followed by a heating and pressurizing mechanism 4, a cooling and pressurizing mechanism 5, a take-up mechanism 6, and a winding mechanism 7.

[0077] In the present embodiment, the spread fiber sheet Sa is made to run while being in sliding contact with the contact surface of resin deposition member 33a to continuously deposit the thermoplastic resin material, and then after running in contact with second guide member 34a, another spread fiber sheet Sb is made to continuously contact the surface to which the thermoplastic resin material is deposited, and the surface of the contacted spread fiber sheet Sb is brought into contact with preheat roll 31b configured in another resin deposition mechanism unit 3b to be heated, and then conveyed to first guide member 32b. Here, "contact" means that the spread fiber sheet Sb is made to continuously contact and be in contact with the surface of resin deposition sheet Ca manufactured by resin deposition member 33a to which the thermoplastic resin material is deposited, so as to be aligned along it.

[0078] The spread fiber sheet Sb is obtained by pulling out the fiber bundles Tb from multiple bobbins 11b set on the cril stand 1b in the running direction D with a constant tension, and then transporting them to the spreading mechanism unit 2b to spread the multiple fiber bundles Tb.

[0079] Then, with tension applied to the sheet material in which the spread fiber sheet Sb is in contact with the resin-adhering sheet Ca, the sheet is made to run while sliding in contact with the contact surface of the resin-adhering member 33b to adhere the thermoplastic resin material to the surface of the spread fiber sheet Sb, and then the thermoplastic resin material is adhered to the other surface of the spread fiber sheet Sa to which the thermoplastic resin material is not adhered by the resin-adhering member 33c to form a resin-adhering sheet Cb, which is brought into contact with the contact surface of the second guide member 34b, and then heating and pressurizing, cooling and pressurizing are performed to impregnate the thermoplastic resin material between the fibers of the spread fiber sheet, so that a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P is manufactured and wound around a bobbin 71.

[0080] Note that, in the present embodiment, although the case where the means of continuously bringing another spread fiber sheet into contact with one side of the spread fiber sheet to which the thermoplastic resin material has been adhered to make the thermoplastic resin material adhere is performed once, the means of continuously bringing another spread fiber sheet into contact with one side of the spread fiber sheet to which the thermoplastic resin material has been adhered to make the thermoplastic resin material adhere can be performed two or more times as necessary.

[0081] In this way, by performing the method of bringing another spread fiber sheet Sb into contact with the spread fiber sheet Sa to which the thermoplastic resin material has been adhered, and adhering the thermoplastic resin material, required number of times, it is possible to manufacture a thick thermoplastic prepreg sheet P. Moreover, since the thermoplastic resin material is arranged and present between the spread fiber sheet Sa and the spread fiber sheet Sb, when heating and pressurizing are performed, the thermoplastic resin material can be impregnated between the fibers that configure the spread fiber sheet in a short time and in a state where voids are unlikely to be generated. [Example]

[0082] [Example 1] <Materials used> Fiber material: Carbon fiber bundle (Toray Industries, Inc.; T700SC-60E-12000 strands / bundle, single fiber diameter 0.007 mm) Thermoplastic resin material: PA6 resin (Amilan CM1017, manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.)

[0083] <Method of manufacturing spread fiber sheet> A known spread fiber sheet manufacturing apparatus (for example, a device in which a winding device that winds the manufactured spread fiber sheet while inserting release paper is attached to a spreading device as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B described in Japanese Patent No. 5553074) was used.

[0084] Ten carbon fiber bundles wound on a bobbin were arranged in the width direction at intervals of 22 mm, and the fibers were continuously spread at a processing speed of 10 m / min to produce a fiber with a width of 220 mm and a basis weight of approximately 36 g / m. 2 The spread fiber sheet Sa having excellent fiber distribution was manufactured, and the obtained spread fiber sheet Sa was wound around a bobbin to a length of approximately 500 m while being in contact with release paper.

[0085] <Thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing equipment> In the thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus M1 in FIG. 1, an apparatus in which the crill stand 1a and the fiber-spreading mechanism unit 2a are not installed and an unwinding device that unwinds the spread fiber sheet is arranged at the upstream stage of the resin adhesion mechanism unit 3a was used.

[0086] The unwinding device is a device that can set the bobbin around which the spread fiber sheet Sa is wound, and can convey the spread fiber sheet Sa to the next process by applying a certain tension, and is equipped with a mechanism that sets another bobbin and recovers the release paper that is wound in contact with the spread fiber sheet Sa.

[0087] The resin adhesion mechanism 3a was composed of one preheating roll 31a, a first guide member 32a, one resin adhesion member 33a, and a second guide member 34a, as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG.

[0088] The preheating roll 31a has a diameter of 300 mm and a length in the width direction of 300 mm, and is set so that the spread fiber sheet Sa contacts it for about half its circumference. Moreover, the preheating roll 31a is controlled to rotate by driving a motor (not shown). Here, the width direction in the length in the width direction is the same direction as the width direction of the continuously running spread fiber sheet and is also the direction perpendicular to the running direction of the spread fiber sheet.

[0089] The first guide member 32a and the second guide member 34a are fixed rolls with a diameter of 50 mm and a width of 300 mm, made of SUS304, with a matte hard chrome-plated surface. A rod-shaped heater is built into the fixed roll, allowing it to heat to a set temperature.

[0090] The resin attachment member 33a is a T-die mold with a hanger-shaped molten resin flow path. It also has a built-in rod-shaped heater, allowing the mold to be heated to a set temperature. Its exterior shape is as shown in Figure 5, with a semicircular contact surface 36a at its tip, measuring 250 mm in width and 50 mm in radius. It is made of SKD material with a high-hardness surface treatment. A slit-shaped discharge port 35a measuring 0.05 mm in width and 250 mm in width is formed in the center of the contact surface 36a. The resin attachment member 33a is then set in an extruder, where the molten thermoplastic resin material is supplied at a fixed rate and discharged at a fixed rate from the discharge port 35a of the resin attachment member 33a.

[0091] The first guide member 32a, the resin attachment member 33a, and the second guide member 34a were arranged so that the running length of the sheet materials such as the spread fiber sheet Sa and the resin attachment sheet Ca in a non-contact state was 50 mm. The running length of the spread fiber sheet Sa in sliding contact with the contact surface 321 of the first guide member 32a was set to a length corresponding to a contact angle θ with the roll of approximately 120 degrees, the running length of the spread fiber sheet Sa in sliding contact with the contact surface 36a of the resin attachment member 33a was set to a length corresponding to a contact angle θ with the contact surface 36a of approximately 80 degrees, and the running length of the resin attachment sheet Ca in sliding contact with the contact surface 341 of the second guide member 34a was set to a length corresponding to a contact angle θ with the roll of approximately 80 degrees.

[0092] The first guide member 32a and the second guide member 34a are designed to be capable of horizontal vibration. The amplitude of the horizontal vibration can be set to any value within the range of 0 to 10 mm, and the amplitude speed can be set to any value within the range of 0 to 1000 Hz.

[0093] The heating and pressurizing mechanism 4 was equipped with two heating rolls 41. The heating roll 41 was a fixed roll with a diameter of 50 mm, a width of 300 mm, and made of SUS304, with a matte hard chrome-plated surface, and had a rod-shaped heater built in so that it could be heated to a set temperature. The heating roll 41 was arranged so that the resin-attached sheet Ca was in sliding contact with the roll surface at a contact angle of approximately 80 degrees.

[0094] The cooling and pressurizing mechanism 5 was equipped with four cooling rolls 51. The cooling rolls 51 were rotating rolls with a diameter of 50 mm, a width direction length of 300 mm, and made of SUS304, with a matte hard chrome-plated surface, and were filled with cooling water. The cooling water was circulated at a set temperature by a chiller. The cooling rolls 51 were arranged so that the sheet material would run in contact with the roll surface at a contact angle of approximately 80 degrees.

[0095] Furthermore, the heating roll 41 of the heating and pressing mechanism 4 and the cooling roll 51 of the cooling and pressing mechanism 5 were arranged in parallel in the running direction of the sheet material so that the length over which the sheet material ran in a non-contact state was 50 mm.

[0096] The take-up mechanism 6 uses a SUS roll with a diameter of 80 mm and a width length of 300 mm as the take-up roll 61, and a urethane rubber roll with a diameter of 60 mm, a width length of 300 mm, and a hardness of 80 as the sheet pressing roll 62, to nip and take up the thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet. The take-up roll 61 is made of SUS304, and its surface is matte hard chrome plated.

[0097] The winding mechanism 7 was a mechanism capable of winding the thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P around a 3-inch paper tube bobbin 71 with a set tension.

[0098] <Method of manufacturing thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet> Using the thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus, a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P was manufactured. The width was 220 mm and the basis weight was about 36 g / m. 2 The bobbin around which the spread fiber sheet Sa having excellent fiber distribution was wound was set on an unwinding device, and the spread fiber sheet Sa was unwound with a tension of 300 g per 10 mm of the width of the spread fiber sheet Sa applied, and conveyed to a preheating roll 31a heated to a surface temperature of 270°C. The spread fiber sheet Sa was run at a speed of 5 m / min.

[0099] The spread fiber sheet Sa that ran in contact with the preheat roll 31 ran while sliding in contact with each of the contact surfaces of first guide member 32a, resin adhesion member 33a, and second guide member 34a, and molten PA6 resin was discharged from discharge outlet 35a of the T-die that was resin adhesion member 33a at a rate of 30 g / min and continuously adhered to one side surface of the spread fiber sheet Sa. Note that the first guide member 32a, the resin adhesion member 33a, and the second guide member 34a were each heated to 270°C. Moreover, the first guide member 32a and the second guide member 34a were synchronized and laterally vibrated with an amplitude of 3 mm and an amplitude speed of 200 Hz.

[0100] Thereafter, the spread fiber sheet Sa to which the thermoplastic resin material was adhered (resin-adhered sheet Ca) was made to slide against the heating roll 41 of the heating and pressurizing mechanism unit 4, and then run in contact with the cooling roll 51 of the cooling and pressurizing mechanism unit 5, to manufacture a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P in which the thermoplastic resin material was impregnated between the fibers of the spread fiber sheet Sa. The temperature of the heating roll 41 was set to 270 degree, and the temperature of the cooling roll 51 was set to 20 degree.

[0101] <Manufacturing state of thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet> Thermoplastic resin prepreg sheets with a width of approximately 220 mm could be continuously manufactured. Visual inspection of the state of the manufactured thermoplastic resin prepreg sheets revealed that they were prepreg sheets with excellent fiber distribution. During the manufacturing, the state of the spread fiber sheet Sa (resin-adhered sheet Ca) to which the thermoplastic resin material was attached, running from the contact surface 36a of the resin-adhering member 33a to the contact surface 341 of the second guide member 34a, was observed to be such that the fibers were laterally vibrated due to the effect of the first guide member 32a and the second guide member 34a laterally vibrating, causing the thermoplastic resin material to be wedged between the fibers and adhered. Furthermore, even if minute gaps existed between the fibers, it was observed that the resin was scraped off by the fibers vibrating in a direction perpendicular to the running direction. Moreover, in the portion where the resin-adhered sheet Ca separated from the contact surface 36a, no molten resin remained attached, and stable manufacturing was continued. When the cross section of the produced thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P was observed using a digital microscope (Keyence Corporation; VHX-5000), it was confirmed that the PA6 resin had impregnated between each fiber, and that the prepreg sheet had been produced without any large voids.

[0102] [Example 2] Example 2 was carried out using the same material and the same thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus as in Example 1. However, in the resin deposition mechanism unit 3, as shown in Fig. 6, a mechanism was used in which two resin deposition members were arranged side by side so that the directions in which the molten thermoplastic resin material was discharged faced each other in the running direction of the spread fiber sheet.

[0103] <Materials used> The same fiber material and thermoplastic resin material as in Example 1 were used.

[0104] <Method of manufacturing spread fiber sheet> The spread fiber sheet Sa was manufactured by the same manufacturing method as in Example 1.

[0105] <Thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing equipment> This was carried out using the same manufacturing equipment as in Example 1. However, two resin deposition members were placed between the first guide member and the second guide member of the resin deposition mechanism, and were arranged in parallel so that the directions in which the molten thermoplastic resin material was discharged were opposite each other, as shown in Figure 6.

[0106] Both the resin-adhering member 33b and the resin-adhering member 33c were T-die molds, and their structure, material, and surface treatment were the same as those in Example 1. However, the tip shapes were semicircular with a radius of 40 mm, and contact surfaces 36b and 36c, respectively, were formed with a width length of 250 mm. As in Example 1, slit-shaped discharge openings 35b and 35c, each 0.05 mm wide and 250 mm long, were formed at the center of the contact surfaces 36b and 36c. Then, as in Example 1, the resin-adhering member 33b and the resin-adhering member 33c were set in an extruder, and a fixed amount of resin was discharged from the respective discharge openings 35b and 35c.

[0107] Between the first guide member 32b and the resin-adhering member 33b, and between the resin-adhering member 33c and the second guide member 34b, the length along which the spread fiber sheet Sa and the resin-adhering sheet Ca with thermoplastic resin material adhered to both surfaces of the spread fiber sheet Sa ran in a non-contact state was set to 50 mm. Then, between the resin-adhering member 33b and the resin-adhering member 33c, the length along which the resin-adhering sheet Ca with thermoplastic resin material adhered to one surface of the spread fiber sheet Sa ran in a non-contact state was set to 30 mm. Moreover, the length along which the spread fiber sheet Sa ran in sliding contact with the contact surface 321 of the first guide member 32b and the length along which the resin-adhering sheet Ca ran in sliding contact with the contact surface 341 of the second guide member 34b were set to be the same as in Example 1, and the length along which the resin-adhering sheet Ca ran in sliding contact with the contact surfaces 36b and 36c of the resin-adhering members 33b and 33c was set to be a length corresponding to a contact angle of approximately 80 degrees with the contact surfaces 36b and 36c.

[0108] <Method of manufacturing thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet> The thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing device was used, and the conveying method of the spread fiber sheet, the lateral vibration method of the first and second guide members, the heating temperature, the cooling temperature, the traveling speed, and the like were set to the same conditions as in Example 1.

[0109] From discharge outlets 35b and 35c of the T-die which were resin deposition members 33b and 33c, molten PA6 resin was discharged at an amount of 23 g / min and continuously adhered to both surfaces of the spread fiber sheet Sa. Then, by running through heating and pressurizing mechanism unit 4 and cooling and pressurizing mechanism unit 5, a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P in which the thermoplastic resin material impregnated between the fibers of the spread fiber sheet Sa was manufactured.

[0110] <Manufacturing state of thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet> Thermoplastic resin prepreg sheets approximately 220 mm wide were continuously produced. Visual inspection of the produced thermoplastic resin prepreg sheets revealed that they had excellent fiber dispersion. Furthermore, no molten resin residue was left behind in the areas where the resin-attached sheet Ca separated from the contact surfaces 36b and 36c, allowing for stable continuous production. Observation of the cross section of the produced thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P using a digital microscope confirmed that the PA6 resin had impregnated between the fibers, and that the prepreg sheet had been produced without any large voids.

[0111] [Comparative Example] In the comparative example, the same materials and the same thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus as in Example 1 were used, except that the first guide member 32a and the second guide member 34a were removed.

[0112] <Materials used> The same fiber material and thermoplastic resin material as in Example 1 were used.

[0113] <Method of manufacturing spread fiber sheet> A spread fiber sheet was manufactured by the same manufacturing method as in Example 1.

[0114] <Thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing equipment> As shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 8, a manufacturing apparatus similar to that of Example 1 was used, except that the first guide member 32a and the second guide member 34a were removed.

[0115] A mechanism was provided in which the spread fiber sheet Sa wound around a bobbin was given a predetermined tension while removing the release yarn in contact with it and conveyed to the preheating roll 31a. The spread fiber sheet Sa ran in contact with the preheating roll 31a for about a quarter of the circumference.

[0116] The spread fiber sheet Sa runs in contact with the preheating roll 31a, then runs while directly contacting and sliding against a contact surface 36a of the resin adhesion member 33a, and the molten PA6 resin discharged from the discharge outlet 35a is adhered to the spread fiber sheet Sa, and then runs through the heating and pressurizing mechanism unit 4 and the cooling and pressurizing mechanism unit 5, to produce the thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P.

[0117] The distance that the spread fiber sheet Sa ran in a non-contact state after running in contact with the preheating roll 31a until it contacted the contact surface 36a of the resin adhering member 33a was set to 350 mm, and the distance that the resin-adhering sheet Ca ran in a non-contact state after running while sliding in contact with the contact surface 36a of the resin adhering member 33a until it contacted the heating roll 41 was set to 350 mm.

[0118] <Method of manufacturing thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet> The thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus was used, and the heating temperatures of the preheating roll 31a and the heating roll 41, the cooling temperature of the cooling roll 51, and the running speed were the same as in Example 1.

[0119] From discharge port 35a of the T-die serving as resin adhesion member 33a, molten PA6 resin was discharged at an amount of 30 g / min and continuously adhered to one side of the spread fiber sheet Sa. Then, the sheet was run through heating and pressurizing mechanism unit 4 and cooling and pressurizing mechanism unit 5 to produce a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet P.

[0120] <Manufacturing state of thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet> When the state of the manufactured thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet was visually confirmed, it was a prepreg sheet with many gaps between fibers and an inconstant thickness. In a section where the spread fiber sheets in the front part of the resin attachment member 33a ran in a non-contact state, it was observed that gaps were generated between the spread fiber sheets. Perhaps because the spread fiber sheet Sa had a small number of fibers in the thickness direction, gaps seemed to be easily generated when fiber bundling occurred. In addition, in the resin attachment member 33a, parts where fibers moved in the width direction due to the influence of the discharged thermoplastic resin material and gaps were generated were observed. In the manufactured thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet, when there were parts where gaps without fibers or the thermoplastic resin material were 3 mm wide or more and continued for 200 mm or more, the sheet tore at that part, and it was difficult to maintain the shape of the sheet.

[0121] In contrast, the thermoplastic resin prepreg sheets produced in Examples 1 and 2 had good fiber dispersion, and even if gaps were formed without fibers or the thermoplastic resin material, they were produced without creating gaps with a gap interval of 3 mm or more and a length of 200 mm or more. Furthermore, the shape of the sheet was stable, and no defects such as tearing occurred along the way. [Explanation of symbols]

[0122] 1a, 1b Krill Stand 11a, 11b bobbins 2a, 2b Spreading mechanism section 3a, 3b Resin adhesion mechanism part 31a, 31b Preheating roll 32a, 32b First guide members 321 Contact surface 33a, 33b, 33c resin adhesive member 34a, 34b Second guide members 341 Contact surface 35a, 35b, 35c outlet 36a, 36b, 36c Contact surface 37 Plate-shaped members 38 Contact surface 4 Heating and pressurizing mechanism 41 Heating Roll 5. Cooling and pressurizing mechanism 51 Cooling roll 6. Removal mechanism 61 Take-off roll 62 Sheet holding roll 7 Winding mechanism 71 Bobbin M1, M2, M3 Thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet manufacturing equipment Ta, Tb fiber bundles Sa, Sb Spread fiber sheet Ca, Cb resin adhesive sheet P Thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet R radius FT1 Tension before contact FT2 Tension after contact FT3 pressing force θ contact angle D Travel direction

Claims

1. A method for producing a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet in which a long fiber material is aligned in the fiber length direction and run to be impregnated with a thermoplastic resin material, the method comprising: forming a sheet of the long fiber material with a basis weight of 20 to 80 g / m, the fibers of which are dispersed in the width direction; 2 a first guide member and a second guide member, each of which has a curved contact surface, are arranged at a predetermined interval in the running direction of the spread fiber sheet, and at least one or more resin adhering members, each of which has a curved contact surface formed thereon and has a discharge port from which a molten thermoplastic resin material is continuously discharged, are arranged between the first guide member and the second guide member, and the spread fiber sheet to which tension is applied in a fiber length direction runs while being in sliding contact with the contact surface of the first guide member, and then runs while being in sliding contact with the contact surface of at least one or more resin adhering members, to deposit the thermoplastic resin material on at least one surface of the spread fiber sheet. a resin-adhered sheet formed by applying a tension to the resin-adhered sheet, the resin-adhered sheet is made to run while being in sliding contact with the contact surface of the second guide member, and in tension of the spread fiber sheet or the resin-adhered sheet running in contact with each of the contact surfaces of the first guide member, the resin-adhering member, and the second guide member, a relationship between a pre-contact tension that is a tension before contacting each of the contact surfaces and a post-contact tension that is a tension after contact is set to a relationship of pre-contact tension≦post-contact tension, and then the resin-adhered sheet is heated and pressurized while running in a state where tension is applied to it to impregnate it with the thermoplastic resin material.

2. A method for manufacturing a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet as described in claim 1, wherein the distance traveled in a non-contact state in the spread fiber sheet or the resin-attached sheet running in a non-contact state through the sections of the contact surfaces of the first guide member, one or more of the resin-attached members, and the second guide member is within 300 mm.

3. A method for manufacturing a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet as described in claim 1, wherein the first guide member, one or more of the resin adhesion members, and the spread fiber sheet and the resin adhesion sheet running through the second guide member vibrate laterally in a direction perpendicular to the running direction.

4. A method for manufacturing a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet as described in claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic resin material is adhered to one side of the spread fiber sheet, and then the other side of the spread fiber sheet is brought into contact with another resin adhesion member while running, thereby adhering the thermoplastic resin material to both surfaces of the spread fiber sheet and forming a resin-adhered sheet.

5. A method for manufacturing a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet as described in claim 1, wherein another spread fiber sheet to which a predetermined tension has been applied in the fiber length direction is successively brought into contact with the surface of the resin-attached sheet to which the thermoplastic resin material is attached, and then the sheet is run while being brought into contact with the respective contact surfaces of another first guide member, one or more other resin-attached members, and another second guide member in turn, thereby adhering the thermoplastic resin material to the spread fiber sheet.

6. A method for manufacturing a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet as described in Claim 1, wherein the spread fiber sheet has multiple fiber bundles arranged in the width direction, and each of the fiber bundles has fibers dispersed in the width direction.

7. A manufacturing device for a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet in which a thermoplastic resin material is impregnated using a spread fiber sheet with a basis weight of 20 to 80 g / m 2 in which long fiber material is aligned in the fiber length direction and dispersed in the width direction, the device comprising at least one first guide member that brings a curved contact surface into sliding contact with the spread fiber sheet that runs while applying a predetermined tension in the fiber length direction, and at least one resin adhering member that is arranged on the downstream side of the running direction of the spread fiber sheet of the first guide member and has a discharge port that continuously discharges molten thermoplastic resin material, and presses and slides the curved contact surface against one side of the spread fiber sheet to adhere the thermoplastic resin material, thereby obtaining a resin-adhered sheet and a second guide member that is arranged on the downstream side of the resin adhering member in the traveling direction and that brings a curved contact surface into sliding contact with the resin adhering sheet, wherein, with respect to tension of the spread fiber sheet or the resin adhering sheet that runs in contact with each of the contact surfaces of the first guide member, the resin adhering member, and the second guide member, a relationship between a pre-contact tension that is a tension before contacting each of the contact surfaces and a post-contact tension that is a tension after contacting each of the contact surfaces is set to be pre-contact tension≦post-contact tension.

8. A manufacturing apparatus for a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet as described in Claim 7, wherein the first guide member and / or the second guide member vibrate laterally in a direction perpendicular to the running direction of the spread fiber sheet.

9. A manufacturing apparatus for a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet as described in Claim 7, wherein a plurality of the resin adhesion members are arranged in parallel in the running direction of the spread fiber sheet with the extrusion directions of the thermoplastic resin material facing each other.

10. A manufacturing apparatus for a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet as described in Claim 7, wherein a resin adhesion mechanism unit comprising the first guide member, at least one or more of the resin adhesion members, and the second guide member is arranged in multiple positions in the running direction of the spread fiber sheet.

11. A manufacturing apparatus for a thermoplastic resin prepreg sheet as described in claim 7, which is provided with a fiber-spreading mechanism that spreads at least one fiber bundle to produce a spread fiber sheet.

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